Coke-oven door machine



Dec. 5, 1939. P. H. LAVELY COKE-OVEN DOOR MACHINE Filed Dec. 29, 1957 S She et S-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Dec. 5, 1939.

- P. H. LAVELY 2,182,494

COKE-OVEN DOOR MACHINE Filed Dec. 29,1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Pam. HWARO LAYZLY.

5 ATTORNEY. I

Dec. 5, 1939. P. H. LAVELY COKE-OVEN DOQR MACHINE 29, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec.

PAUL HOWARD Lnvaur.

ALAITORNEY.

Dec. 5, 1939. P. H.6LAVELYI 2,182,494

COKE-OVEN DOOR MACHINE Filed Dec. 29, 1937 5 Sheets-sheet 4 INVENTOR. PAQL. Howmzo LAVELY.

ALATTORNEY.

Dec. 5, 1939. I V LAVELY 2,182,494

'- COKE-OVEN DOOR I MACHINE Filed pee. 29, 1957 s Sheets-Sht 5 UNlTEDJ-STATES r raN-r oFr ca- COKE-OVEN noon "MACHINE Paul Howard Lavely, Pittsburgh, Pa, assignor to" Koppel-s Company, a corporation of Delaware Application December 29, 1937, Serial No.: 182,205

17' Claims. (01. 212- 4) The present invention relatestodoor machinery the lower edges of the doors thus making the and contemplates more particularly the provision lower portion of the sealing frames'difilcultly acof an improved machine for operating and macessible-for proper cleaning because the incan- I nipulating the-doors of horiaontal cokejovens, I descent.reiractoryydoor-plug protrudes a. consid- 5 In horizontal cokeovens of morerec'ent conv rable distance beyond the sealingedge and par- '5 struction there is an increasing tendency on the tially obscures sections thereof that'require at part of their builders to provide, instead of the tention. If some provision-is not made. toturn 1 older mud-luted doors, so-called self-sealing I or slue the door around horizontally during the doors for closing the ends of the coking chamcleaning-operations, the workman isconfronted [0 b'ers against gaseous transferv between the inwith thenecessity-of changing his position-on 1" terior of the coking chambers and theatmosthe bench several times in the .course of. the

phere. Self-sealing coke-oven' doors have, in operation andof passinginfront of the hot'doori a,

general, a peripherally extending metallic rim plug before heican properly remove the unwanted with relatively narrow edges so disposed as to rest accumulations. This is both time consuming and in' contact with a co-acting surface "of the door- "awkward and also exposes the workman directly 5 1' frame: which entirely surrounds the-mouth of' tothe'high-temperatures of the door-plug. An-

the coking chamber, when the oven door' is in otherobstacle to proper cleaning ofmodern cokeoperating position. Pressure of the latch-bars oi oven doors from a single position on the bench is the door against the latch-hooks forces this petheir height which may be as much astwelve or 2o ripheral sealing edge against the co-acting surfourteen 'feet or more thus making the upper face of the door-frame thus forming a metal toreaches of the sealing-edges quite diflicultly acmetal contact and seal therebetween. Unevenness .cessibleto the operators. z

. or minor distortions of thesealing surface of the g 7 All these difliculties and disadvantages are overdoor-frame or of the sealing edgeare compene come bymeans of'the i p and sated for: by adjustable threaded; members that closed coke-oven door. machine of the invention 5 app1y,'-pressure to.saidsealing rini and thus force which istadapted to, unlatch anjoven door and" l it toiconform, to and 'press against the door remove. it from )themouth of-a cokin'g chamber. .2 j

frame and so form acontinuous contact therewith automatically, a thereafter" ra p it into along itssurface when the door; has been set in,' the framework of the doorrnachine and therein operating position and latched. slue it horizontally through an angle of substan-- 3 'During the distillation oi the coal charge m t a y nin ty ees w e. s a e us y elev f the oven chamber some -of the volatilized fluids Vating the (1001 d l? that thebottom edges f. travel through the narrow interstitial spaces betherebf are easily f fl Cleaning by o e tween the oven walls and the refractory plug of standing substantially at the level of the battery thedoor. and are there condensed and deposited" bench or from platforms thatare arranged on on the coolermetal surfacesadja'centthe contact 'the'doorz machine at levels thereof from which between themetal' sealing-rim and the door both the-upper and lower. parts of the slued door frame and eventually -in thecourse ofa coking are easily accessible. w I periodgform' a rather granular crustydeposit One'of, the objects of the present invention is 1 4 whichmay help perfect thesealing. ofthe' door. tofl i n f S '40 butwhich'attimes gives rise to difllculties inre- V adaptedffor propelling along-the relatively narturning thev sealing edge into satisfactory contact- \rowoperat m, at the f e 5 O n bat: with the door-frame after the. s'eal has been "ter'y and'is disposed to mechanically unlatch andbroken andthe oven doorhas been removed to' latch" the doors' of horizo'ital-colclng chambers permit pushingof the coke charge. Inconse- "and also to.remove and-restorethem mechan quence, it is customary operating procedure to" y the mouths of such-chambersin a Sim? 7 remove these crust-like"deposits. from both the ple and efiicient-manner..- r sealing-edgeand'the door-frame by'scraping them Anotherobject of invention is: the provision or manually. alongtheirentireperipherywith apa door machine that'is not only arranged to propriatetools each time they are removed from accomplish the above-mentioned operations auto- 50 the oven mouth. Ingeneral, the operating bench matically'but is in addition adapted to slue the on which the workman standsto carry out thisremoved door both out of and into alignment scraping and cleaning. operation is so disposed I with the mouth of acoking chamber automat in respect of the oven doors that there'is only-a ically, and also. during such sluing movement, is

relatively small clearance between the bench and further adapted respectively to'raise said door 55 above and thereafter lower it back into that horizontal position from which it can be inserted didoor-machine" framework that is itself adapted for movement more especially along a high battery-operating bench of substantially the usual width and within the normal close clearances between a door-machine and the battery buckstays, and on which door-machine the manipulated door is always supported between the ends of the machine and the trucks on which it is propelled, so that its center of gravity will not be seriously shifted when the heavy door is received thereon.

A further object of the present improvement is to furnish a door-machine that will give the machine operator, and also the workman that cleans the door, adequate protection from the radiant heat given off by the highly heated refractory section of the door when it is slued out of alignment with the oven mouth. The invention has for further objects such other improvements and such other operative advantages or results as may be found to obtain in the apparatus hereinafter described or claimed.

Essentially, the mechanism, by means of which the oven door is manipulated according to the invention, has a supporting pedestal that is rigidly mounted on a chassis between trucks for moving it along the battery-bench. A vertieal mast is adapted to reciprocate horizontally in atrack-way therefor at the top of said pedestal. Vertically disposed and rotatablymounted on the mast, by-bearings at the top and the bottom, is a screw-threaded shaft which carries a similarly threaded nut that is adapted for traveling upward or downward on said shaft, depending on the direction of rotation of the latter. Surrounding the threaded nut and shaft when said housing is moved along the threaded shaft'by the pressure thereagainst of the threaded nut in its travel, these door-controlling features are carried along with it. The door-hook itself and the device for turning the latch-bars are mounted, according to theinvention, on a housing-section susceptible of a short length of travel along the threaded shaft independently of the main part of said housing, so that the doorhook may be moved into or out of engagement with the hook-plate of the door and the latchbars may also be turned without changing the vertical position of the door. To this end, said' housing-section is formed as a cross-head which carries the door-hook and a latch-turning .device linked therewith. The cross-head is slidable along the vertical threaded shaft inside of the main housing and is attached to thethreaded nut that moves along the threaded Jshaft as the 7 latter is rotated. This nut and the amxed crosshead are so disposed in respect of the main.-

housing and the rotatable shaft that the former is engaged by said nut only at such times as the door-hook is securely engaged with the hookplate on the oven door. Integral with the main housing is a spiral track-way in which a fixed roller on the mast is adapted to move. When the entire housing. surrounding the threaded shaft is moved upward or downward by rotation of the latter, the pressure of said roller against the-walls of the spiral track-way causes the housing to move horizontally simultaneously with itsvertical movement thus elevating a door carried by the door-hook at the same time it is slued horizontally away from its position facing the battery. In short, the instant improvement provides means for moving a coke-oven door out of alignment with the mouth of a coking chamber to a relatively remote position through a helicoidal path of short radius.

- In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and showing for purposes of exempliflcation a preferred apparatus inwhich the invention may be embodied and practised but without limiting the claimed invention specifically to such illustrative instance or instances:

Figure 1 is an elevational end-view of a cokeoven door machine embodying the main features of the present improvement, parts of which are illustrated in section, and showing the improved machine in position on the operating bench of a battery of horizontal coke ovens and in front of a self-sealing door which is in sealed contact with a door-frame at the mouth of acoking chamber, the door-hook being shown in engagement with the oven door which is ready to be withdrawn from the oven; this view is taken substantially on the line 1-1 of Figure 3;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragment of Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially along the line III-III of Figure 1;

Fig. '4 is a section taken substantially along the line IV-IV of Figure 1;

Fig. 5 is a section taken substantially along the line V-V of Figure 1;

Fig. 6 is a section taken substantially along the line VI-VI of Figure 3;

Fig. '7 is a plan view taken substantially along y the line VII-VII of Figure 1;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view otthedoor machine providedby the present invention and showinga preferred embodiment of its-features in a practical and convenient chassis which also incorporates in its construction novel features designed to facilitate oven operation and maintenance;

Fig. 9 is a fragment showing the contours of the guideway aiiixed to the shaft housing of the invention whereby said housing is moved horizontally; and

Fig. 10 is a horizontal section through a selfsealing door, which. the present invention is adapted to operate. and showing especially the construction'of. the latch-bars and the arrange.- ment for attaching them to the door. I, v

The same characters of reference designate the Referring 'now to the drawings and particularly to Figures} and 2, a battery of horizontal I coke ovens comprises a series of coke ovens ll same parts'in each of theviews of the drawings. I

of which a partial vertical section, taken longimouth at each end'of a coking chamber is entirely surrounded by a continuous protective-- metal sheath or frame which is provided, adjacent its inner edge, with a continuous wellmachined surface I4 that forms a part of the sealing means for the coking chamber. Buckstays I 5 serve to restrict movement of the ma-- sonry'of the battery structure and to support the door frames and jamb-plates against the jamb bricks of each end of the heating walls.- Each oven mouth i sclosed during the carbonization period with ailoor l5 comprising an outer metallic casting that supports a heavy plug I! of heat-resisting material that extends well into the coking chamber ID. The oven doors l6 are supported in operating position by means of rigid latch-bars 18 that are rotatably mounted on threaded pins l9, said pins being themselves held in similarly threaded brackets 20 that are fixedly mounted on the door casting, so that the latchbars are rotatable around said. pin in the plane of the door and can be moved perpendicularly of the door by rotation of said threadedpin IS in the bracket 20. Attached to the buckstay [5 are hooks 2| that are adapted'to engage the latchbars l8 when they are rotated, as shown'in Figure 2, and against which the latch-bars can be pressed by proper rotation of the threaded-pin mounting. This pressure of the latch-bars against the latch-hooks retains the oven door in the mouth of the cokingchamber andin turn presses the adjustable sealing edge- 22 against' the flat surfaceof the door-frame l3. This pressure can be relieved by opposite rotation of the threaded pin, which then leavesgthe latch-barsfree-for rotation in the plane of the door and for disengagement with the latch-hooks.

Closely" beneath the. oven soles and extending along the face ofthe battery is the operating bench 23on whichare supported rails 24 which provide trackage for the door machine of invention. The doormachine is propelled along saidtrackage' on wheels 25 thataredriven by any preferred means such as aneIectric motor suitably geared thereto for the purpose; ,As is clearly shown in Figure l, the clearance between the face 26'0'1' outer line of the buckstay I5 and the chassis 21, which supports thosefeatures of the door machine that are provided for manipulating the oven door, is significantly less than the overall thickness of the door and said cha'ssis' member 21' also extends upward above the level of floor line I! of the sole of "the coking chamber. For convenience of operation and forreasons of structural stability and economy,it isdesirable that. a coke-oven, door-machine be 4 operative to.

remove an oven door and slue it'sideways of a coking chamber within these rather -restricted.--

space relationships and certain features of theimprovement have been developed in solution-of these circumstances','as will be evident from the. hereinafter disclosure.

v Rigidly mounted on chassis 21 is pedestal-.28

which isprovided with trackways 29-for the rollers 30 that inturn support'the ram 3|. Motorr32 isadapted to provide said ram with reciprocative movement longitudinally of the coking chamber, In on said rollers ,30 by means of the rack 33,? whicheis attached-to thelower side .of ;the ram, and of the co-acting pinion 34 that is operatively' rotatable by shaft 35, said shaft being arranged for rotation by worm-gear 31 and worm 36 that itself is directly connected with saidmotor .32'

through coupling 38,. as shown in Figures l, 25' and 5.

.At its end facing the coking oven, ram 3| car ries vertically extending mast 39. Mounted on said mast are the different features of the in- -vention for manipulating the oven doors. vProtruding from this mast are the upper and lower brackets, respectively 40 and 4|, provided with aligned bores. Within these bores are supported 'radial roller-bearings 42. The shaft 44, screwthreaded on the surface of its outer central part, is supported by saidmast upon which is is rotatably' and vertically mounted in the roller-bearings. Rotational movement of .the shaft 44 around its vertical axis is provided by motor 45 operating through worm 46 and a therewith com-- municating system of gears, as shown at the top of Figures 1 and 5. Motor 45 is fixedly mounted at the top of mast 39 on bracket 41.

, Slideably mounted on, and surrounding shaft 44 than which it is shorter, is the shorter hollow housing 48, indicated in part by the cross-hatching in Figure 1, and to the door-hook 49, bufier pin 50, the device SE for turning the latch-bars, and the upper and lower latch-operating apparatus 52 are all fastened and by means of which they are movable upwardly and downwardly along shaft 44. When in lowered position,

housing 48 is supported by stop bracket 53 that. projects from mast 39 to engage stop dog 54 of said housing. The latch-actuating device 52 'is rotatable bymotor 55" (Figure 3) through gearedwheel 56 to turn the threaded pins E9, on which latch-bars l8 are supported in the door-brackets v '20, thereby loosening or tightening the latch-bars in respect of the latch-hooks 2i. 'This latchactuating feature exemplified in the drawings is the invention of" others and has been made the subject of the. application Serial Number 140,960

,filed on May 5, 1937, by Ragnar Berg and Robert W. Crist. To facilitate movementof hollow housing 48 along rotatable shaft 44, bearings 51 are provided therebetween at the upperand' lower surfaces of contact.

\ Movementof housing .48 upwardly and down-' wardly along shaft '44- is effected by the action of v i threaded nut-58} which is arranged ,to travel .in V thesurfic'ial-threads of said shaft when the latter is rotated by motor45; thedirection of its travel obviously depending upon the direction of rotation of shaft 44. Within hollow slide- Vable housing 48'and also slideably mounted on shaft 44 is a cross-head 59 which according to the invention is provided with a short dis tance oftravel' (designated bygA-A in Figure 2) along said, shaft independently of' said housing member. This cr'osshead partially surrounds 3 threaded nut 58 and is carried along by the latter 'duringvany movement thereof resulting from the v rotation of shaft 44. The upper and lower portions of -saidicross-head are formed'as sleeves that are-adapted to move over the threadsof the rotatable shaft with a slight clearance at their inner. surfaces and on their outer-surfaces have sliding contact with bearings carried on inwardlyextendingcircumferentialprojections I02, I03, on I the inside oftherhousing. 48, as shown in Figures 1 and 2." According to the invention, nut 58 is not rigidly attached to cross-head 59, but,'on ,the

; contrary; the'contact therebetween. is designed to permit "the'nut to-fioat-somewhatin'side the l -70. -minor irregularitiesor departures fromprecise CIOSSrhead," SQ1 that the former is free to ;follow alignment. of portions of the threaded shaft without seriously-strainingthe cross-head: Such an I Q I arrangement is shown the accompanying Fig pendently thereof in vertical planes. Adjacent their contacts with nut 58, the upper and lower sleeve-like portions of the cross-head member have projecting flange-like rims, respectively 60 and 8|; the top of the upper 50 of these flangelike parts is a smooth surface arranged to engage the lower surface of the projection I02, that extends inwardly from the walls of the hollow housing 48. when the cross-head is moved upwardly by travel of nut 58, said member I02 therefore operates to establish the upper limit of independent travel of said cross-head. A portion of member 50 also extends outwardly beyond the walls of said housing through an opening 85 therein and supports a. vertically disposed plate member, that moves up and down accordingly as member 68 travels, and functions as a covering for the opening 55 (see Figure 5). By means of the replaceable shim I84, the upper limit of independent travel of the door-hook and the cross-head can be regulated.

Door-hook 49 is pivotally mounted at 62 on the shaft-housing member 48 and is in addition pivotally connected to said cross-head 59 by link 63 and pin 64 through said opening 65 in the walls of the slideable housing, and by means of this arrangement in combination with the short distance of independent travel of the cross-head, it is possible to raise and lower said door-hook without moving member 48 or the thereto amxed latch-operating devices 52, so that these two lastmentioned members always remain in the same spatial relationship with the oven door irrespective of the position of the door-hook.

Attached to the door-hook is the means for turning the latch-bars in the plane ,of the door to take them into and out of engagement with the latch-hooks. As shown in Figure 1, and in the enlarged fragment thereof, Figure 2, this means comprises a metallic rod 5| which has at its upper and lower ends a U-shaped device into each of which a lug 85 of a latch-bar enters when the ram 8| moves the door-operating and -han-. dling'assembly into operating position in front of the oven door, said devices are thus adapted to press on said lugs and to turn both the upper and lower latch-bar simultaneously upon movement of said rod in a vertical plane. Vertical movement is imparted to rod 5| by the door-hook itself, as it is rotated around pivot 52 by travel of the threaded nut through the medium of a therewith communicating assembly comprising links 58, 59, sleeve 10 and the sleeve-stop 1|. Sleeve 18 is slideably mounted on rod 5| and is provided with slots at its upper end which are adapted to mesh with similarly shaped projections on the sleeve-stop 1| which itself is held fast to rod 5| by any preferred nieans. The sleeve Ill is formed with a bored lug 12 that projects laterally therefrom. This lug is pivotally connected, according to the invention, both with the door-hook itself by means of link 58, and also with that heavy link '83, thatTserves to raise and lower said hook; the

latter connection is formed by rod 58 which has Figure 2, and it determines the neutral position of the jaws that engage the latch-bars.

Helical spring 14 mounted on rod 5| operates to press sleeve 10 firmly against its co-acting sleeve-stop housings circumference.

nut 58 cannot rotate around shaft 44 inside the. cross-head but it can cant back and forth inde- II and to hold the slots of the former in engagement with the projections of the latter. This ar- .rangement advantageously permits a certain amount of independent movement of said sleeve along the rod 5|. This is a precautionary measure provided to obviate distortion of said rod 5| in the event that it becomes fouled for some reason, when the door-hook is being lowered out of the hook-plate 51. If that eventuality occurs and again free, will exert that pressure required to return said sleeve into engagement with member II. The U-shaped members 15 and [6, respectively positioned at the top and bottom of rod 5| employed for engaging the latch-bars of the oven door, are pivotally mounted on said rod by pins and are retained in operating position by compressible springs, as shown in Figures 1 and 2,

so that if for any reason the lugs on the latchbars are incorrectly positioned to enter the recess of the U-shaped members but rather to exert pressure on the horizontal portions thereof when the door machine is moved into position for grasp 'ing the oven door, these members can be moved outwardly from theoven face on their pivots and be later returned to alignment with the rod 5| by spring pressure when the cause for misalignment has been corrected thereby preventing their permanent distortion or bending under those circumstances.

As shown in Figures 1, 2, the shaft housing 48 has a helicoidal guideway 11 that is an integral part of the housing. It is formed by two parallelly spaced ridges that protrude perpendicularly above the outer surface of said housing, and beginning at an upper point diametrically opposed that at which the door-hook is pivotally afllxed to said housing, they-'continue downwardly helically through substantially ninety degrees of the Roller 18 is rotatably affixed to the mast 39 and is of a diameter adapted to permit its passing between the walls of said guideway against which it presses when housing 48 is moved along threaded shaft 44, thereby causing said housing to rotate around the shaft ,atthe same time it is moved longitudinally thereof. Both movements are effected by means of but one actuating motor,

According to the invention and as clearly shown in Figures 3, 5, and particularly-in Figure 8, a recess I9 is provided in the lower chassis framework 23 of the door machine. This recess is located be- .tween the supporting trucks of the door machine and is of particular import 'in that it provides means whereby a coke-oven door can be withdrawn from the mouth of a coking chamber and can be slued sideways to a position at right angles to the lengthwise dimension of said chamber on a machine that has a substantial part of its supporting framework extending crosswise of the coking chamber above the level of the sole thereof at a distance less remote from the face line of the oven buckstays than the overall thickness of the oven door. Furthermorathe recess 19 makes it possible'to effect the sluing movement with the bulk of the sluing door between the trucks and the tracks of the door machine thus contributing to it a greater stability and a lower center of gravity than would obtain on a machine of similar proportions if the door were suspended from the end I i are. arranged to 'expand contract {and toffol 6 lowthe housing .48 upo'r down the'rotatable shaft:

their function is to-obviate ingress into the housj ing-of adventitiousmateria'ls'that .could act as- ""abrasivepto score the hearings or -threaded..rnem-' bers.

10 Referring nowparticulai'ly t'oFigure i Y there is 'shownin-perspective ahpractical"appa-P if --ratus inwhich-"already described features off-the i inventionare'embodied along with other improvej operators, -the numerals-I9,- as aforesaidgdesig inates the-trecess" into which the oven door iisjarranged' tobe withdrawn. by the .reciprocative 3 ram 3luheforethe oven door iselevated and slued v r -53; following gwhich,the limit switch: at 94,.inthe -mi-"sideways ,by the. door-operating assembly posi-- V tioneddirectly above said recess; Thises'sembly terial that may have accumulated thereon'during so a '-;coking interval.

shouldxpreferably be such that the edges of the door are not obscured or made inaccessible.

The platform 85 at the opposite end; of the "f is arranged to .slue the door "in *therdirectionf 1-; "of ithenupper and lower platforms respectively ill and BZ that:are-connected by a. circular stair- 25 way"83, and fror'n which platforms the :operator' can easily reach the-top andbottom ofthe slued j vdoor-to scrape the sealing edge thereof with appropriate :toolsfor removing adventitious ma-- The vertically extending f metal'strip -84'-is locatedin-' such positionft'hatltriS directly "betweenthe operating platforms" and the incandescent refractory plug of i the slued ments thataddgr eatlylto the; facility ofopera-1 r e I '-'-15:-tion' and totthe convenience and comfort of the Preventing po l v m nt:ofi

such "positions of the door. In addition, limit eliminate any possibility of elevating or'slu ingthe oven'doorduring travel of the ram; ,The'limit to raiseandfslue ani-oven door aftersit' been I gwithdrawn into recess :19 byyoutwardtravel ofthc' ram, the circuit to1-isaidsrmotor at-haVi'hgbeen previously": opened by: limit switch I 89 so as to switch as that stops the up travel lofthe-dooruhook is-arran'ged to be by-passed when the whole assembly is racked outward from =the;.oven face soithat-power can again' be applied to motor 45' to' turn'th'e rotatable shaft; If'preferred, a limit switcli'mayalso be placed ata point adjacent 94 which will breakithe circuit; to motor (32 during the elevating: and turning of -h0using14B"; thus jswitclif95-is arrang'cd to' :open the circuit to the -'rnojtor d5rafter the housinghas been loweredand turned back-to'its normal position against bracket Ip'circuit to th'efracking-motor 32 leg-disposed to again Jenergize that circuit so that the. mastpcan the direction of thefcoking chamber; itsrnotion the moved; forward by it Th'e' ilatchtightening devicesf'a'z are .each 'operaa title-independently by means of-r upper and lower oven-.mouth.

electrical motors 56 (Fig.' 3) p,

tWhen the ram of the'door machine is" moved in is-bufleredqby pressure" fromP-helical .spring- .96

"which is pressed against its upper surface by the action of plunger 91 that is itself moved downwardly against said spring by the pressure of the 'dog .98, attached tothe upper surface ofthe ram bell crank 99.

door-apparatuschassis from the above-mentioned 4 platforms :8l,"82, is preferably reserved for the control-board from which are controlled the starting and stopping'of the motors, employed to actuate the featuresof invention as well as their sequence of operation. The hot plug oft better understanding of the purpose, construction y more or less constantly stationed thereby avoid near its outer end, against thepivotally'mounted and the operating results that can -be obtained ing' subjecting him to excessive temperatures. Appropriately located limit switches, that prevent the over-running of the moving parts of the door-machine assembly, practically eliminate the danger of damage tothe moveable elements .of

I the described assembly. .For example, the limit i switch 86 is in the electrical circuit whereby motor 55 is actuated and its control handletll 1 having the reciprocative ram and the various eleis, disposed'ifor turning off the current to said" motor at *suchitime as the travel 'of 'the 'shaft "mounting 48 is elevated sufficiently to bring the thereto attached dog 88 into-pressure contact with arther by stoppingsaidmotor and prevent with the various elements embodiedtherein. The

door-machine assembly is moved along the face of-a' coke-oven battery on its trucks 25, while ments mounted'ther'eon well retracted within the 'framework'of thelapparatus. Upon reaching a position directly in front of the door tobe extracted from a coking chamber mouth, the ma- Jtitilly opposite respectively the hook-plate of the door and the threaded pins whereby the latch- -fing excessiv 'e elevating of the housing member; the limit switches 89; 90 (Figure 5), are also ar- Y ranged in the electrical circuit to said motor 45' p and'they, are adapted for. actuation. by the dog; 35 9|, attached to rod SI of the latch-bar. turning device; to open" the circuit to said motor when.

7 v 1 wardly orldownwardly travel and they. also operto shutoff motor 32 when "racking ram 8l"has rod' S l has reached the preferred'limit ofj upreached the preferred outward limit of travel and simultaneously to restore current to the motor 45-50 that said motor is again ready for operation bars are rotatably mounted on the door adjacent its upper and lower parts. "During this'operating the bumper bar 50 and the device. 5| jfor turning the latch-bars. in the plane of the door are all sup: ported on the retiacte'd r'eciprocative ram in the relative positions shown in Figure 2; From operat ing platform-;, racking motor 32 is then started to move 'the mastfslowly forward until the doorhook is pressed against'hook plate' 61, as shown in Figure 2 the movement of the rainfibeing buffered through .the' pressing of helical spring"? 86 thereagainst by thedog 98. With the doorin zthe'directionf 'of the p interval, the traveling Inut 58, 'itheIdoor-hook 49, i

' 55, operating through the reducing gear 56, in a direction causing the latch-bars to move away from the door-hooks. These motors are also controlled by means of control switches accessible from platform 85,

After the loosening of the latch-bars, motor 45 is started causing shaft 44 to rot-ate, whereupon nut .68 starts to travel upward in the threaded section of said shaftito lift the door-hook into lifting-engagementiwith the hook-plate, in which position itis shown in Figure 1. Simultaneously,

the jawed members 15 and 16 of the rod 5| are also elevated an amount greater than that traveled by the door-hook in consequence of the action of the lever linkage whereby said rod is connected with said hook, to press with their lower jaws against lugs 66 of the latch-bars and thus to rotate the latter out of engagement with the latch-hooks. --The door I6 is now free to be withdrawn from the mouth of the oven. Motor 45 1 is allowed to continue to operate until the door has been raised vertically a short distance of from one-half to one inch so as to break-up and loosen any incrustations that may have been deposited along the metal sealing edge of the self-sealing door during the carbonization period and also to lift the bottom of the door slightly above the ovensole. When thedoor has been so elevated, motor 45 is'stopped. If for any reason, however, it is not stopped at a preferred point, said motor will be shut-off by the pressure of dog 9| against limit switch 89 (Figure 4). The oven door is now securely supported on ram 3|, and is withdrawn from the coking chamber by rotating motor '32 in a direction opposite that employed when moving the ram towards the face of the battery. The ram is allowed to continue its outward movement until the lower part of the thereon vertically disposed oven door is well within recess I9 which, according to the invention, is provided to receive the same and must be of suflicieut depth to allow the inner face of the refractory door-plug l l being removed beyond the face 26 of the buokstays. When this position has been reached, the racking motor is either shut off by the operator or excessive travel of libstantially between the trackage along 'it is propelled at the face of the battery, with 'the result that the thereby'supported door does iiot significantly change the center of gravlily-{6f said machine and an improved stability is thuis iiiiparted to door machine of this class.

"-By ineans "of features of the invention, only one iiiotor 45 1s required to effect the raising and the sluing movements of the oven door, and both movements are effected substantially simultaneously. These changes in position of the extracted door are brought about by the travel of nut 58 along shaft 44 and by the travel of roller 16 in the helicoidal guideway 11; the pressure of said roller on the walls of saidguideway resolving part of the energy that results, from the pressure of nut 58 against housing 46, into a force causing said housing toturn on the rotating shaft. The contour of guideway 11 determines thepreferred path described by the door during its elevating and sluing, and that contour chosen for the present embodiment is illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and of the slideable housing to assume again a vertical path for a short distance, at a point on the housing substantially at right angles to that of the upper vertically disposed section of said walls.

After the outward moving ram has removed the oven door to a position within the'framework of the door-machine and its lower edge is well within recess I9 thereof, motor 45 isoagain started to rotate shaft 44in that direction which will cause upward travel of nut 58, which has been previously so disposed, in respect of said slideable shaft housing and of the door-hook and of and as a result the whole thereon mounted as sembly including the door starts to slide vertically along the rotating shaft and to leave contact with bracket 53. During this interval roller I8 is po-' sitioned between the vertically. disposed walls of the upper part of guideway 11, and the path of the housing and the oven-door is in consequence solely a vertical one, which continues until the lower edge of the oven door has been raised sufllciently that it is clear of the upper edge of recess 19 formed in member 21. This position having been reached, the roller enters the helically disposed section of the guideway walls and the housing begins to turn or slue around the rotating shaft as it is elevated therealong directed by the pressure of the roller against the walls of the guideway. This sluing motion continues until the door has been turned through an angle of substantially ninety degrees while being raised a substantial portion of its lengthwise dimenroller enters the lower, short, vertically-walled section thereof that serves to resist further 'sideways movement of the door which-is thus retained in the preferred slued position with its hot refractory plug on that side of the protective metalstrip 64 opposite the platforms 8|, 82, where a sion. At the lower end of the guidewa the workman can stand and clean the door protected begins to turn, thus preventing movement of the reciprocative ram when *the door is. iniralsed or slued position.

After the cleaning of the oven door, motor 45 is again started and the door is'lowered and slued back to its normal position,- with thememberfl of the shaft housing resting in contact with-brack--- et 53; this position having been reached, the limit switch 95 actuated by dog HH will stop said motor. At this point, the limit switch at 94 is arranged to close the circuit to the rack ng-drive and permit moving the door-ram forward by motor '32.

This forward movement. of the ram is arranged to break the contact of limit switch 95 and again close the circuit to. motor 55. .When the door is restored to its position in the oven, motor 65 isv again started and the door-hook is lowered until stopped by limit switch 90. This downward motion of said hook draws the latches into engagej ment with the latch-hooks attached to the door frames, and thereafter 'upper and lower motors the door machine is ready to be moved to'the next oven door.

The invention as hereinabove set forth is embodied in particular form and manner and may be variously embodied within. the scope of th claims hereinafter made. v

I claim:

'1. Apparatus for manipulating coke-oven doors and comprising, a ram reciprocative longitudinally of a coking oven, a shaft rotatably mounted on said ram and having screw-threads on its surface, slideably mounted on said shaft a shorter housing provided with means for engaging a coke-oven door to remove it from an oven, a threaded member adapted to travel along said shaft in its screw-threads upon rotation of said shaft, means for engaging said threaded member with said housing 1 so that movement thereof along the shaft effects vertical movement of the housing. and guide means to'. sine the slideable housing horizontally as it is moved vertically by the threaded member.

2: Apparatus for manipulating coke-oven doors as claimed in claim 1 and in which the guide means comprises a member stationary in respect of said housing and a vertically extending helicoidal groove arranged to-receive said stationary member.

3. Apparatus for manipulating coke-oven doors and comprising, a ram reciprocative longitudinally of acoking oven, and means mounted on said ram that are adapted to move said door simultaneously both vertically and horizontally, said means comprising a member that is both pivotally mounted on said ramand vertically movable along said pivot, said member being provided with means for engaging and handling an oven door, a fixed member and a helicoidal groove. 1

arranged, upon relative movement, to enact to member vertically along said pivot. c; v v

4. Coke-oven apparatus comprising a mechanism for manipulating a coke-oven door, said mechanism having means for engaging a door to remove and restore-it to the mouth of a coking chamber, said means being provided with reciprocative movement longitudinally of a coking chamber by means of a ram-like device upon which said means is pivotally mounted for horizontal rotary movement on a vertical pivot that .is sufliciently longer than the pivot-engagement with the door-engaging means, and means for vertically adjusting the door-engaging means vertically relative to its pivot tope'r'mitof a desired .vertlcal movement of said door-engaging means along said pivot, power-actuated 'means for effecting one of said movements, and mechanical means for effecting the other of said movements, said. mechanical means being'adapted to be-actuated by the movement of the first of. said fiuence of. said power actuated means.

5. Coke-ovenapparatus comprising a me h-- anism'for manipulating a coke-oven door, said mechanism having amember, for engaging a door movements upon its movement under'the into remove and restore it'to' the mouth ofa coking chamber, that is provided with ,reciprocative movement longitudinally of a coking chamber .by

means ofja ram-like device on which said member ispivotally mounted for horizontal andvertical movement, said mechanisnr comprising a vertically-directed helicoidal guideway and a de lvice adapted to co-operate therewithin such manner as to turn said door-engaging member determined by said guideway when saidmember ismoved vertically along the pivot means therefor.

6.- Coke-oven apparatus comprising a mechmechanism comprising, a ram reciprocative 1ongitudinally of the coking chamber, a member ,Jadapted to engage an oven door and support it.

sideways of the coking chamber through a path anism for manipulating a coke-oven door, said ter is susceptible of horizontal rotation on said pivot which is also sumciently longer than the therewith engaging portion of said member to permit a desired movement lengthwise .ofsaid pivot means, adevice for moving said member lengthwise of said pivot means, and guide means,

arranged for turning said member horizontally during movement lengthwise along said pivot .means, comprising, a vertically disposed helicoidal guideway and a therewith co-operative device that is arranged to turn the door-engaging member through a path determined by said guideway.

'7. In coke-open apparatus adapted to'manipulate coke-oven doors and to operate the latches thereof, door-grasping means, door-latch-operating means, and aram, said door-grasping and door-latch-operating means'being mounted for vertical arid horizontal movement on the ram and said ram being mounted for reciprocative movement longitudinally of acoking oven to constitute means of which a coke-oven door can be grasped and unlatched and then-withdrawn by said ram from the mouth of a coking chamber to a -point beyond the buckstay. line, andmeans operable in the retractive position of the ram to elevate and turn thereafter reversely return the mounting for the door-grasping means and doorlatching-operatin'g means to the mouth of the coking chamber without intermediate disengagement of said door-grasping and door-latchoperating means with the door.

8. In coke-oven apparatus adapted to manipulate coke-oven doors and to operate the latches erable at the same time and adapted to utilize the.

mounted on a common carrier that is pivotally mounted for joint vertical and horizontal movement on the ram, and said ram being mounted that said grasping means can be moved into and out of engagement with a coke-oven door without moving the door-latch-operating means, a power driven device .for elevating the carrier, said device being operatively connected with the doorgrasping means for independent movement of said grasping means and also operatively connected with the carrierfor thereafter effecting movement of the common carrier for the joint movement as a unit of the door-grasping means and the latch-operating means with the door therewith, whereby an oven door can be grasped and unlatched and thereafter withdrawn, elevated and turned sideways, canbe reversely returned by one power-driven device;

9. In coke-oven apparatus adapted to manipulate coke-oven doors, door-grasping means, a ram that is reciprocative longitudinally of a coking oven, said grasping meansv being so mounted on and arranged in respect of said ram that said means and its mounting can be moved vertically and horizontally independently of said ram, means for reciprocating the ram so that a cokeoven door can be grasped and can be withdrawn by said ram from the mouth of a coking chamber to a point beyond the buckstay line, means for shifting the grasping-means mounting vertically and laterally away from and reversely returning the same toward the mouth of the coking chamber while suspended. by the ram withoutmoving said ram other than longitudinally of the coking oven.

10. Coke-oven apparatus adapted for propelling within relatively close clearance of the buckstays 1 of a coke-oven battery ontiucks provided with. trackage along a relatively narrow operating bench at the face of a coke-oven battery, said apupward movement to cause the turning of the door laterally during the elevation of the door upwardly, without moving said ram other than longitudinally of the coke oven, all of said means being so arranged and disposed in respect of said apparatus that an oven door in engagement with said means to grasp it is at all times supported between the trucks of the apparatus and thesluing of said door is effected substantially between the trackage for said trucks.

11. Coke-oven apparatus adapted for propelling within relatively close clearance of the buckstays of a coke-ovenbattery on trucks provided with trackage along a relatively narrow operating bench at the face of a coke-oven battery, said apparatus having means operative to grasp a coke-oven door, ram means to withdraw it from the mouth of a coking chamber to a point beyond the line of the buckstays of the battery,

and meansto shift it vertically and horizontally relative to the ram means in the withdrawn position of the ram, all of said means being so arranged and disposed in respect of said apparatus that an oven door in engagement with said means is at all times supported between the truclm of said apparatus andthe shifting of said door is eflected sumtantially between the trackage for said trucks.

l2. Coke-oven apparatus adapted for propelling on trackage along the face of a coke-oven battery and including a device for grasping a coke-oven door, means for moving said door longitudinally of a coking chamber, shiftable means for shifting thedevice with the door thereon laterally of the means for moving said door longitudinally, a supporting chassis with trucks therefor, said chassis having a recess that extends back oiv a rail of said trackage an amount suiiicient to receive a substantial part of an oven door beeffectively disposed within the wheel-base and trackage lines of the said chassis.

13. Coke-oven apparatus adapted for propelling on trackage along the face of a coke-oven battery and including a device for grasping a coke-oven door, means for moving said door longitudinally of a coking chamber, shiftable means for shifting the device with the door thereon laterally and vertically of the means for moving said door longitudinally, a supporting chassis with trucks therefor, said chassis having a recess that extends back of a rail of said trackage an amount suflicient to receive a substantial part of an oven door between the trackage lines, said device and shiftable means being mounted between the trucks of the supporting chassis in alignment with the recess of said chassis, so that an oven door can be withdrawn into said recess directly from the mouth of a coking chamber and can be shifted'sideways with the major load of the shifting door effectively disposed within the wheel-base and trackage lines of thesaid chassis.

'14. In a battery of horizontal coke ovens, in combination: a relatively high operating bench that extends along the face of the battery at a level closely adjacent that of the soles of the coking chambers; trackage positioned on said to manipulate coke-oven doors; and apparatus bench for guiding therealong apparatus adapted disposed for propelling along said trackage at a distance from the buckstays less than the overall thickness of the oven doors, said apparatus including, a device for grasping a coke-oven door, means for moving said door longitudinally of a coking chamber means for shifting the door verchassis to a. point beyond the face-line of the buckstays and to such position that a substantial part of the door is between the lines oi said trackage, said means fort-shifting being adapted to shift the door, wheri iwithin the recess, vertically until the bottdmcotitherdoor is above the part ofthe chassis-thatisrabove .the oven sole,-

and at the same time turn the door laterally in the recess during the elevation of the bottom of the door to a point above the upper part of the chassis that is above the oven sole, and said means for shifting being reversible for reversing the aforesaid operations within the recess.

15. Coke-oven apparatus adapted for propelling along the face of a battery of horizontal coke ovens and including means for grasping a coke-oven door to remove and restore it to the mouth of a coking chamber, other means for sluing said door sideways of said coking chamher, and a heat-resisting plate member located between the position occupied by the hot refractory part of a slued door and a station for cleaning it in that position, said plate member being of sufiicient extent adequately to protect a workman in front of a slued door from heat given ofi by the refractory part thereof but of insufficient area to obstruct the periphery of the door and prevent its proper cleaning from said station.

16. Coke-oven apparatus provided with trucks for propelling it along trackage at the face of a battery of horizontal coke ovens, said apparatus including a ram for grasping a coke-oven door and for reciprocatively moving it longitudinally of a coking chamber, means for sluing said door laterally of said coking chamber and into a position between the trucks of said apparatus, an operating station on said apparatus conveniently located opposite the refractory lining of a door thus slued by said sluing means, and, between said station and the slued door, a heat-resisting plate member of adequate surface to protect a workman standing on said station from heat given off by the refractory part of the door but insufiicient in extent to obstruct the. peripheryof the door and prevent its proper cleaning from said station.

17. Coke-oven apparatus as claimed in claim 16 and in which includesanother operating station for controlling the actuation of said apparatus and in which the control operating station is so disposed relative to the means for sluing that the means for sluing theoven door is arranged to turn the refractory portion thereof away from the control operating station.

' PAUL HOWARD LAVELY. 

